Month: November 2013

Here is a peek of my new home in RI. We are moving this week and since that is all that is on my mind right now, I thought I would share:

This is the main living floor. Good size open room that includes the kitchen, dining room and living room. I can not go out and buy all new stuff, so I will be using most of what I am bringing from the old condo, including the sofa and tables:

I did find two chairs that I am going to have reupholstered in this fabric:

I just wanted to take the time on this special day to send a heartfelt hug of gratitude to all of you coming here to visit me and my little blog throughout the year. Thank you for all of your kind words and thoughts in your comments and emails, it really means a lot to me.

I have made such wonderful caring and encouraging friends online. So, “Thank You Very Much!” and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Eat and rest up well because the next day will begin the Holiday madness!

Related Posts

A sophisticated grayish violet named Exclusive Plum is the Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year for 2014 which can be found under the catagory of Fundamentally Neutral. “This dusky, filtered violet is refined without being stuffy, elegant yet easy, and layered with romantic potential,” says Jackie Jordan, the company’s director of color marketing:

The company says the 2014 color is versatile and can be used in a variety of spaces which you can see by the photos. It looks great in the bath, living room, dining room and I think my favorite, the bedroom.

When I wrote about a purple living room design here, many of you agreed that the prettiest of the ‘purples,’ (purple is not a very pretty word, is it?) were the grayish versions of the color. I have always loved purple so I can see myself definitely using Exclusive Plum.

Imagine how pretty a bureau or table or bookcase would be painted in this color. What do you think of the new Sherwin-Williams 2014 Color of the Year?

Do you hesitate to throw a fun get-together because of the anxiety it brings? Over the years, I have followed a few ideas I have found about entertaining and thought I would share with you. Stress-free is important to me, ( I want to have fun too!) and here are a few ideas to help with that:

* Music is very important! Sets the whole scene. Create a fun playlist before the party. Throw in everything from new releases to some Abba, Billy Idol and Barry White and you’ll have people up and moving!

* Offer guests a beverage as soon as they arrive. I keep my bar area separate from the food and dining areas. People like to hang around the bar and mingle.

* The food presentation is easy if you break it down. Use a white or pretty tablecloth as a base. Then find items to make small pedestals to elevate some of the food items higher than others to create a beautiful landscaped table. Use fluff linen and décor to fill in spaces.One simple flower arrangement is all you need.

* Offer bite size appetizers and hor d’oeuvres in assorted flavors and styles. I usually pick a couple items to make myself, then pick up favorites from the store. No one cares that you do not make everything!

Don’t you just love one-of-a-kind statement chairs? A chair that is full of personality and uniqueness?:

I have to admit I was pretty excited when One Kings Lane contacted me last week to help introduce their new Decor Resource Center to my blog readers. They knew I loved accent statement chairs and asked if I would share one of my favorite chairs. Here is a chair I just finished painting and had reupholstered:

I have always loved the shape of this chair. According to the resource guide, my chair is similar to Renaissance Revival Chair, 1870. Their resource guide is great that you can look up the history of your chair from Ancient civilizations to Modern American Design. There are illustrations of each chair that includes a detailed history:

When designing a statement chair, the first step is finding a chair that you love, a piece that gets you excited(no matter what it looks like before):

Then I decide where the chair will be going, so I can work with the existing furnishings. I put together this fabric palette that will work well:

I think statement chairs add life to a room by being a centerpiece that accents the rest of the decor. When people enter the room, their eyes are drawn to it. Here are a couple of my favorite chairs I have saved:

Sometimes a room needs a chair as a finishing touch once everything is in place. Do you have any statement chairs in your home? Now is the time to search the internet or flea markets for a signature chair that can be reupholstered, repainted or restored to finish off the room!

PS I wanted to add a couple pictures of the whole fireplace that a reader requested. She wanted to see the whole thing. Here you go Terri!

I went to the home with the realtor and I wondered out loud why the border had not been taken down and the walls freshly painted. He told me that the sellers did not want to go through the extra work and that the buyers can change it if they choose to. ( And I should mention that this home has been on the market for quite awhile):

AND the realtor AGREED with the seller that it looked nice and isn’t wallpaper coming back in style?! My first thought, “ I thought you wanted to sell this home.”

Agree or disagree? Does anyone disagree with me that wallpaper borders are outdated? I wish I could have taken pictures for you but these examples I have shown are on the same idea. Don’t you agree that the sellers should remove the wallpaper if they want to sell?